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but yes, make sure you do a thorough test drive, make sure your MPG's are pretty decent and make sure you can slowly cruise in EV mode. with a light throttle, you should be able to accelerate in EV mode to 15-20 MPH (once the car is warmed up)
Got one for wife one week before mine but she only has 2000 miles on hers. Only filled up a few times but her driving mostly suburban, short distances, etc. and last time actual mpg around 35.5. Since last fill up computer indicated 39.9 so she is probably realistically averaging close to 37.
I really questions others on this board who claim to be getting into the 40 mpg range. Unless you are one of those mileage "freeks" who tailgate, shut motor down and coast (no need to do that in NAH!) & other crazy stunts I really don't see how anyone can average into the 40's, no matter how conservative they drive.
Any ideas? :confuse:
Do mostly highway driving. Second NAH we also bought in March has only 2500 miles on it. Should be filling within a few days, trip computer says 39.6, I believe so actualy mpg once I fill it up probably around 36.5. That vehicle mostly suburban driving lots of short trips.
So, overall, pleased with mpg as slightly more than what sticker indicates.
My "Service Engine Soon" light just came on with under 3000 miles. The car is running fine. I have no clue why it's on. If I knew a way to reset it I would try that and wait to see if it came on again. If so, I'd run it in to the dealer. I'm quite a ways away so it would be nice to be able to do a reset and see what happens. Anyone have a clue on how to do a reset on the "Service Engine Soon" light on a NAH ?
TIA.
The 1st thing I did was to check my gas cap before I put up the post. Anyway I Googled "Service Engine Soon" light for NAH and found nothing. I did find a number of posts about disconneting the battery and reconnecting it for other cars. Well I decided to give it a try. My "Service Engine Soon" light is now off. It hasn't come back on today. I've used my car about 5 different times today. It's still off. Only thing that happened was the horn started beeping when I reconnected the battery and VDC light stayed on for a few miles. I think it just had a bad emissions burp. Anyway I disconnected the negative wire on the battery in the trunk on the right side inside that little door on the right about 1 foot in. Anyway this has worked for me and if it does come back on it's going into the dealer.
http://www.supernissans.net/forums/2007-4th-gen-nissan-altima-faq/36-ses-procedu- re-2007-altimas.html
Was very interesting to read. I'll try that if it comes on again.
Have a great day. :-)
2. The car runs solely on battery up to 39-41 mph given that you crawl the car up to that speed with plenty of juice in the batter pack. The engine kicks in when you accelerate or when you are low on the battery pack.
3. The transition between gas and electric engine can be a bit rough once in a while, otherwise, it's pretty smooth.
If you are not a die hard Nissan Fan, then go with the Camry hybrid, it's worth the extra $.
I don't think I'd go that far. I think the NAH is great, though you have random issues sometimes. I think you should try out both before making a decision. Sometimes I think it might have been better to get a prius for the fuel efficiency, but I never get those thoughts with the TCH. Just thinking of the horrible unsupportive seats make me cringe.
the intermittent misfiring is becoming a safty issue. The car almost stall in the middle of the street on an oncoming trafic when the engine misfire. Again she repeated her line. Oh well, I guess I just have to call nshta to see if they could help out. Oh by the way, I got the impression that Shannon is the opposite of Maureen.
using an injector-cleaner additive (STP, for example) every 2-3 tanks of gas to avoid this problem.
Worth a try!
Is this specific to Nissan? I wouldn't think Prius and Camry hybrids would sell so many if hybrid doesn't work.
Issue 2: Again when cold, (and possibly damp or wet), the brakes really stutter the car the 1st few times I brake, but again, go away.
Issue 3: When decelerating from 40 or 50 MPH, the car stutters (no brakes applied, just foot off the gas). I read somewhere the Nissan has extended the CVT warranty to 10yr/120K on the transmission. Could this be a transmission issue?
Other than that, car runs pretty well, I average 36mpg in combined driving. Only other issue I see is that sometimes the engine continues to run while I am stopped even if the batteries are fully charged. Not sure if that is because I have heater/AC/radio, etc running. If I have the time, I just shut down and restart and it goes back to EV mode.
Lastly, does anyone know if they have updates for the software used to control the hybrid system? Would be great if they would post at least that updates are available and to go to the dealer to have the update installed. Also provide a list of fixes just like a software company.
Thanks and any advice would be appreciated. FYI, I live in VA so the local Nissan dealers are not equipped to do much more than standard engine maintainence.
I haven't had these problems, although the engine has always seems to run a little rough when cold on mine. Where in VA are you and what dealer are you using? I'm in NOVA. Since our dealers don't see many of these, it's difficult for us to really know what is normal for these and what is definitely a problem. If you are around NOVA, I'd be happy to let you ride in my Altima if you want to see if it feels anything like yours. Unfortunately I'll be pretty busy for the next couple weeks.
As far as your issues go:
1, the engine does rev and seems a bit rough when starting cold, but I have never felt mine is misfiring. With the issues some have been having with misfires, I wouldn't be surprised if yours really is.
2, is this issue only when you are getting close to a stop, or even from higher speeds when you first start to brake? Mine brakes seems to be a bit, well, "rough" for lack of a better word right before coming to a complete stop, but I've never felt it was a safety issue as it doesn't affect being able to stop.
3, the only thing I've experienced that this "could" be, is that the car does make a noticeable, well, "roughness" again when going into EV mode sometimes at the higher MPH levels that EV works (35-42), especially close to 42 MPH. I'm not saying this is your issue, but just throwing it out there.
I haven't heard anything about an extended warranty on these, with exception of the battery being warrantied through 100K (don't know if that's true). I'd sure love for the warranty to get extended. I really do like the car, but the issue some are having are scary enough to consider moving onto a different car (when gas gets to $4 again and the economy has rebounded a bit so the resale is strong).
I generally use Koon's (used to be Brown's in Arlington). They seem decent enough for this area, but I've yet to have an issue since it's been Koon's so I can't say how they'll handle it for sure. I'm 6000 miles and just over 6 months away from being out of warranty.
Braking shutters generally when I am getting close to stopping (20 mph and below)
The shuttering of the engine is strange, it happens usually between 60 down to 40 BEFORE the EV kicks in.
Thanks for the offer to drive your car, would love to take you up on the offer. However, for me, time is limited as I will be moving out of state (Iowa of all places) the day after Thanksgiving. So my time is being spent between work and getting the house ready to move.
The braking shutter might be the same as mine. Whether or not it's normal, I don't know but mine has done it since new. I've never felt what mine does was a safety issue. I don't know how long you've owned the car, but if not long, you might notice something else in the near future, especially with the rough roads in this area. When you are braking and you hit a pothole or a bump, it can make it so it won't charge the battery while you are braking. When this happens, the feedback on the brake pedal, and the ability to brake are greatly reduced. There isn't anything I've found that fixes this except just letting the system reset itself by coming to a complete stop or it'll eventually reset after a minute or two of normal driving. I'm pretty sure it's a safety shut off on the recharge system as I think priuses and camries do the same thing. Is that right for the plural of prius and camry? :confuse:
Thanx
Larry
the 60 to 40 seems strange...is it always like that, repeatable everytime?
I have an 07, 51k with very similar problems. Because it has began to snow, I go out to warm up the car. I'll start it and when out of EV, the engine will run and sounds HORRIBLE. The car rattles (I can feel the front end vibrating). If I do not drive off or shut it off, it almost sound like it will die on me. It kind of also sounds like something is grinding.
Also, not from 40 or 50 like you are experiencing, but about 25 or so to almost a complete stop the car pulsates/vibrates and does the same thing. I originally thought it was a brake issue and everything looked good when they were checked. It too sounds like it may die and everything is vibrating.
Does anyone know what is causing it. Im not sure if it is trying to kick back into EV and having an issue or not, but when the problems are happening, it will not go into EV and is strictly running gas.
Any insight is appreciated. I love this car other than all the issues Im having (not the first issue).
Wayne
Clean the cylinders???
Wayne
--L
December 24th 2009: "WE DID REMOVE THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD AND DID FIND CARBON DEPOSITS ON THE VALVES...TECH WILL BE REMOVING CYLINDER HEAD AS PER OUR LAST CONVERSATION...SHOULD BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU AN ACCURATE ETA ON TUESDAY" That Tusesday would have been December 29th and I heard nothing which was par for the course.
January 7th 2010: "The cylinder head of your vehicle was off as of yesterday afternoon. My tech. needed a special tool to remove the valves from the head to clean and make sure none of them are damaged. The tool is available at our other Nissan dealer and a driver is en route to pick it up this morning. I should have that here within the hour and will start to remove and inspect the valves asap. Later this afternoon I will have more information to give you and I will either call or e-mail you when I have it. Hope you have a nice day and I will be in contact as soon as I can."
January 12th 2010: I spoke with the tech that is working on your vehicle this morning. The vehicle is in the process of being put back together. The valves, once removed, were still in very good condition and just needed to be cleaned of carbon deposits. I am hoping to have the vehicle back together by tomorrow and get a good road test on it before we release it back. If there are any delays in the process I will contact you as soon as I know. Thank you for your patience"
January 13th 2010: In response to my questions about the delay and if I am about to received a patched engine that has merely been cleaned (also about what he thought the recall was for). His response: "I apologize for not getting back to you in a timely manner. As you know last week was my first week at this location and subsequently I was very busy getting familiar with everyone,everything etc. As far as your vehicle goes there was no "damage" to your engine or to your valves. As with any fuel injected vehicle, the engine builds up carbon deposits in the fuel system. The Altima Hybrid has had an issue with this carbon building up with very low miles though yours is only the second one that I have come accross, Nissan has started to see a problem. Unfortunately I do not have any info. as to when the recall may come out. Any info. that I have on the problem has been given to us via the "tech line" help desk. From what they say the spring for the valve is too soft which allows the carbon to build up along the valve. I just found out from my tech that what they may do is replace the valve springs so that when the valve hits it, the valve will spring back hard enough to break any debris free therefore burning off any carbon. There may also be a reprogramming for the vehicles computer to adjust the air and fuel mixture and opening and closing of the
valves. Your vehicle has been driven 2 times and the tech will take it out once more before we release it. I am also going to have the vehicle cleaned inside and out before we call you."
I will say that I am thoroughly annoyed with Nissan about this issue. Nissan has this Weasel from Consumer Affairs offering me as a so-called "goodwill gesture". $200 dollars worth of Nissan parts and service that has to be expended in one service visit at a Nissan or Infinity service center. This same corporate weasel has been calling and trying to talk over me and my concerns since around December 18th. I was demanding a new engine since the 24th of December to no avail.
So I have been driving the car for 11 days since return. Same crappy mileage but the service engine warning light has not come on yet at least. I sure do miss my Camry Hybrid (I was an idiot to trade Toyota workmanship for Nissan crapmanship)! I guess my 6 years with a 6 cylinder Altima convinced me that maybe they could do a good job with a hybrid.....wrong!. LOL! COL! Crying out loud rather!
Wayne
Wayne
Wayne
Problems:
1. Like other people's cars, the IC engine seemed to be running "rough." Driving along, I can feel irregular vibrations through the gas pedal. At times, it would rattle pretty bad when idling and internittently at low speeds, especially when cold. Also, when driving in IC mode on long flat stretches or on gentle uphill slopes, the car sounds as if it has a moped motor rather than an engine. Also, the Service Engine light comes on intermittently.
2. Shortly after the car started running "rough," the brakes began stuttering as I slowed, generally when going about 30+ mph- moreso when braking pretty hard or cornering, as one would expect. I didn't think much of this since 2 of my previous Nissans suffered the infamous 12,000-mile brake breakdown and behaved in a similar way. I really don't know if these issues are related but it is quite a coincidence.
3. After a week or so of rough running and brake stuttering, the car stopped switching into EV mode altogether. The IC engine runs continually even at very low speeds, when coasting down hills and lately even when parked! Last night, as I was pulling into my driveway, the MPG fuel efficiency gauge starting fluttering very fast like it was having palpitations of some kind.
Two days ago, I brought the car in to a local dealership and they were not able to detect any problems using their computer diagnostic tool. They did say that there has been some sort of recall that requires a reprogramming of some aspect of the internal computer. They didn't have much information but thought it would solve the braking problem. Unfortunately, they were not able to observe any engine problems when they test-drove it themselves and since diagnostics were negative, I had to just take it home and keep an eye on it. I had them do the reprogramming and a complete inspection and fluid change ($95.00, holy ish). Since the reprogramming, the brake stuttering has stopped (?) but unfortunately the engine problems continue.
Today I took it back in to the dealer and took 2 service techs on a test drive with me around the block. OF COURSE, the car performed perfectly, switching into EV mode properly and idling perfectly fine. I was aghast but the guys were super nice about it even though they probably thought I was nuts. Then as we were pulling around to the service area, the Service Engine light came on again. Thank goodness (I think.)
According to the diagnostics, cylinder # 3 is misfiring and they say it needs to be REPLACED entirely. This sounds like something more serious than blowing out some carbon deposits. They are keeping the car overnight and will do the repair tomorrow. Aside: today, the service manager confessed that they have only worked on 4-5 NAH ever in their shop. Lack of hybrid-experience seems to be endemic in Nissan service departments.
Will update tomorrow.
After a couple of weeks of this, I took the car back to CarMax, where I had an extended warranty. They almost immediately shipped it to the Nissan dealership, since CarMax had no experience with the hybrid version - turns out, neither did the Nissan dealership. After keeping the car for a week, Nissan to told CarMax that there was definitely an issue, but they didn't know what it was. They were "preparing a bulletin for release next month", but it could be as long as a year until they had any kind of resolution. They recommended de-carbonizing the engine, but could not say definitively if that would resolve the issue or make it better; they'd do this for the reduced cost of $199.
When I asked whether this was either a performance or safety issue, and whether the car would get worse if I continued to drive it, I was told "we don't know".
And that's it. I got the car back, no charges thankfully, but no fix and no idea whether this is going to cause serious issues - and no help any time in the near future from Nissan. I've had good luck with Nissan in the past, but this is clearly not acceptable.
Recently, my wife complained of rough idle and stuttering at low speed. I took it to the dealer last Saturday and noticed the Service Engine Soon Light was on (she didn't tell me that!). They checked it out and within a few hours reported that it had carbon buildup and they would need to replace the cylinder head. :sick: I know that is highly unusual for a new car with low miles that is serviced regularly. I asked the service manager how that is possible. The response: "I don't know."
Fortunately the dealer gave us a loaner Cube to drive while they work on the car. But they said Nissan Corporate refused to cover the cost, so the dealer was picking up the tab. (I've bought 2 Nissans in the past 23 months; the other is a 07 Frontier).